Matthew chapter 16 opens with a direct question from Jesus to His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, a city filled with shrines to many gods. The passage, verses 13 through 19, contains the first reference to the church in the Bible. Pastor Bulawa noted that the principle of first mention means God supplies foundational truth at that initial reference. The question that frames the text is simple: Why did Jesus start the church? Textbook answers exist, yet the surrounding context supplies a clearer purpose.
Confused Reasoning About the Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus asked, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The answers came quickly: “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:13-14, KJV). Public opinion held Jesus in high regard, viewing Him as someone returned from the dead, yet every description fell short of His true identity. The same confusion continues today. A quick search for “who is Jesus” produces more than a billion results, enough that roughly every sixth person carries a different idea. Elevated views of Jesus as a good teacher or religious figure still leave people short of recognising Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Many who grew up in religious settings once shared that same incomplete picture. They knew the name “Jesus Christ” yet treated “Christ” as a surname rather than a title meaning Messiah and Saviour. They affirmed He was special without confessing that He is God in the flesh. John 3:16 was familiar, yet the personal application remained distant until someone explained that the same Jesus who loved the world also loved them individually. Galatians 2:20 personalises the truth: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (KJV). All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No amount of religious effort can bridge that gap. The only remedy is to receive Him by faith: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12, KJV).
A Concise Reply
Jesus then turned the question to the disciples: “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:15-16, KJV). The confession was precise. Christ is the title of the promised Messiah. Son of the living God affirms that Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus declared Peter blessed because this knowledge had not come through human reasoning but through revelation from the Father in heaven. Every believer who shares that same confession is likewise blessed, regardless of present trials. With the blessing comes responsibility.
The Compassionate Remedy
Jesus immediately moved from the confession to His plan: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, KJV). Questions often arise about the passage. Some ask upon whom the church is built. Scripture does not present Peter as the foundation. Psalm 18:2 and 18:31 identify the Lord as the rock. Peter himself later called Jesus the precious cornerstone. Paul described the church as the pillar and ground of the truth, and Jesus declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, KJV). He purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28).
Others ask when the church began. Debates about the exact timing of the crucifixion or the precise starting point of the church can occupy attention, yet the more decisive question is why. Jesus established the church because people were confused about His identity, and He refused to leave them in that condition. The church exists to make Jesus known as the only way to the Father. An elevated but incomplete view of Jesus leaves a person still lost. The church’s primary task is to ensure the world does not remain confused.
A Coordinated Response
Jesus paired the promise of the church with language of advance: “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19, KJV). The same authority is later given to believers corporately in Matthew 18:18. Gates do not move; they mark strongholds. Jesus spoke these words near a location already called the gate of hell, underscoring that many such places exist across the earth. The church is not told to defend against hell creeping in; it is told to charge the gates. Those gates cannot prevail.
The keys represent the gospel that opens what is locked. Satan holds people in darkness through spiritual strongholds (Ephesians 6:12). When the church withholds the gospel, people remain bound. When the church proclaims it, the same keys that Peter used at Pentecost, with the Samaritans, and with Cornelius continue to open hearts. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Missionaries do not originate with mission boards; they are called out of local churches, as Acts 13:1-3 records of Paul and Barnabas from Antioch. God calls people already busy in the work. The sending church then bears the responsibility of support, just as an employer covers the cost when it sends an employee on assignment.
1 John 3:17 asks, “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (KJV). The Greek word translated “good” (bios) refers to what is necessary to sustain life. Anyone alive possesses something of that category and therefore something that can be given. The widow who cast in all her living (Mark 12:44) illustrated faith that trusts God with both the month and the money. Those who give from abundance and those who give from lack both honour the Lord when the gift is offered in faith. No one will out-give God.
Conclusion
Jesus started the church because the world remains confused about who He is, and He intends that confusion to end. He gave the church the keys of the gospel and the promise that the gates of hell cannot stand against it. Faithway Baptist Church, and every local assembly, exists for this purpose: to make Jesus known so that captives are set free. The same Saviour who died for the world and rose again offers eternal life to every person who will receive Him. Believers who have already trusted Him with eternity can also trust Him with the resources needed to send the gospel to the ends of the earth.
